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MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2009 Teardown

Teardown

Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.

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This guide has been found to be exceptionally cool by the iFixit staff.

We got our hands on a MacBook Pro 13" Unibody and decided to compare it to a MacBook Unibody -- from the inside! Follow us on Twitter to get all the latest updates as we're doing the teardown!

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Edit Step 1 — MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Mid 2009 Teardown ¶

This just in: the new MacBook Pro 13" Unibody!
We'll be comparing it to the MacBook Unibody throughout the teardown.
- We have a feeling it will be very similar in most regards.
Check out our MacBook Unibody repair guides if you'd like to answer any of your repair-related questions!
Would you like to write teardowns like this? Show the world what's inside your gadgets with our new user-contributed teardown platform!

Edit Step 2 ¶

Contents of the box:
- User's manual
- Restore DVDs
- 60-watt AC adapter
- AC adapter extension cable
- Cleaning cloth
- No video adapter, as usual.

Edit Step 3 ¶

Some comparisons to the MacBook Unibody:
- No access door for the battery on the bottom.
- The addition of an SD card slot (and the omission of digital/mic port) is readily apparent.
- FireWire is back!
- Computer lock is now on the other side.
- The SD card sticks out almost .5"! This is a cheeseball design for a MacBook "Pro" if you ask us.

Edit Step 4 ¶

Let's get down to business.
There's no door latch, going along with the "not user-serviceable battery" theme.
We had to dig out a Phillips screwdriver for this step.
A quick flip of the lid and...

Edit Step 5 ¶

...It's almost exactly the same as our old, "lesser" MacBook Unibody.
The battery compartment is identical to the one we uncovered in the MacBook Pro 17" Teardown. We'll venture a guess that it looks the same in the updated 15" Pro as well.
Remove two tri-wing screws and the battery is suddenly replaceable. The sticker comes right off, just as in the 17" Pro -- because it's adhered to just the battery and midwall, not to the optical drive.

Edit Step 6 ¶

7-hour battery specifications:
- Model A1322
- 10.95V
- 60Wh
- "This battery contains no mercury (Hg)."
When working on all machines that have internal batteries, disconnect the battery first to cut off power to the entire device.
Apple does offer battery replacement service for $129. If you're not near an Apple Store or service provider, you'll be without your machine 3-4 business days.
Although the batteries look similar, they're definitely not interchangeable. The MacBook Pro's battery is too large (and different in shape) to fit into the older MacBook Unibody.

Edit Step 7 ¶

Removing the hard drive...
It's still considered user-replaceable by Apple, but replacement does require removing 10 more screws than on the MacBook Unibody.
First thing we'd do is replace the 160 GB Hitachi with something more meaty.